Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events – day 1,098

A man rides a bicycle near the open-air exhibition of destroyed Russian military vehicles at the National Military History Museum in Kyiv, Ukraine, on February 25, 2025 [Tetiana Dzhafarova/AFP]

Here is the situation on Wednesday, February 26:

Fighting

• Russia attacked Ukraine with nearly two hundred drones overnight, mainly targeting the Kyiv region and energy facilities in the east. Ukraine’s air force said its defences had shot down 110 of 177 drones launched in the offensive, reporting that 66 other drones had been “lost”.

• Kyiv’s Regional Governor Mykola Kalashnyk said in a post on Telegram that the attack on his region killed one person, wounding at least two and setting several houses on fire.

• At least one person was killed and 13 more were injured by Russian shelling in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, German news agency Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) reported, citing the governor of the Donetsk region, Vadym Filashkin.
• At least two civilians were injured by Russian bombs in the neighbouring Kharkiv region, DPA also reported.
• Kyiv’s military said air force units shot down six missiles and 133 of 213 drones launched at Ukraine overnight. Some 79 more drones reportedly failed to reach their targets.

Servicemen of the 24th Mechanized Brigade, named after King Danylo, of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fire a BM-21 Grad multiple-launch rocket system towards Russian troops, on a front line near the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine February 23, 2025 [Handout/Oleg Petrasiuk via Reuters]

 

• The Russian governor for the Krasnodar region, Veniamin Kondratyev, said Ukraine launched an overnight drone attack, damaging infrastructure including the Black Sea port of Tuapse. No injuries were reported.
• Russia’s state-owned RIA Novosti reported that a 17-year-old was arrested on suspicion of gathering intelligence to help Ukraine target Russia’s Ryazan oil refinery with drones. The teenager reportedly confessed to the allegation under questioning.
• The Russian Investigative Committee said a Russian man was sentenced to 16 years in prison for filming an air defence system in Podolsk and sending images as well as geographical data to Ukraine.

Politics and diplomacy

• United States President Donald Trump confirmed earlier media reports that he had reached a deal with Ukraine to access the European country’s rare earth minerals and other natural resources.
• A new study by the World Bank, United Nations, European Commission and the Ukrainian government found that about $524bn would be needed to rebuild Ukraine’s economy after Russia’s three-year war on the country. This marked a 7 percent increase from the $486bn estimated one year ago.
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated Moscow’s disapproval of European peacekeepers being stationed in Ukraine, despite Trump claiming Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed to it.

UK Ambassador to the UN Barbara Woodward casts a vote during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the 3rd anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the UN headquarters in New York, the United States, on February 24, 2025 [David Dee Delgado/Reuters]

• Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia has a lot of rare metal deposits and that they were willing to strike a deal with US. This comes after Trump pledged that “major economic development transactions with Russia” would take place in the future.
• Ukraine’s Naftogaz company said Norway would be providing funds for Ukraine to buy natural gas. The assistance is reportedly part of a $400m aid package financed through the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development.